Air Force fencing reported on Nov. 9 that its men’s team earned victories over #4 Princeton and #5 Ohio State during the Elite Invitational held at French Field House in Columbus, Ohio. The event marked the start of the collegiate season for Air Force, with both men’s and women’s teams competing against several nationally ranked opponents.
The significance of these wins lies in their rarity; they are the first top-five victories for Air Force under head coach Katarzyna Dabrowa, who is now in her second season leading the program. Facing five of the top seven teams in the nation, the men’s team finished with a record of four wins and three losses in head-to-head matches.
Air Force defeated host Ohio State 15-12 to close out Saturday’s action and followed up with a narrow 14-13 win over Princeton on Sunday. The Falcons also experienced two close defeats by just one point to #6 Penn and #7 Penn State. Seven members of the men’s squad achieved double-digit individual wins, including all members of its foil group. Senior Jack Griffith led this group with sixteen victories, while freshmen Richard Li and Sean Oh contributed fourteen and twelve wins respectively.
The saber group was highlighted by freshman Andrei Nazlymov’s eighteen wins—the most on the team—and junior Jackson Houtz’s eleven victories. Senior Omar Emara matched Nazlymov’s total with eighteen wins as leader of the epee squad, achieving perfect records against Wayne State, North Carolina, Ohio State, and Princeton.
On the women’s side, senior Mira Vestel led her saber group with sixteen wins—going undefeated against several schools including #5 Northwestern—and freshman Kailyn Choi paced foil fencers with nine victories. Sophomore Keira Lonadier recorded six epee wins for Air Force women.
Looking ahead, both teams will compete next at the USA Fencing November North American Cup from Nov. 14 to Nov. 17 in Fort Worth, Texas.
